Thirteen-year-old
Elle Fanning
is certainly not a newbie to show biz. She’s been in the business
since she was 3! But in her upcoming movie We
Bought a Zoo,
Elle is trying out a new
sort of character she’s never played. She describes her as “a
unique, sort of quirky, funny character.”

In the
family flick that blends drama, humor and love, Elle plays Lily, a
young girl who works as a waitress at a zoo restaurant and part of a
group of do-gooders fighting to save the rundown zoo from ruin.

As if
we’re not already loving the trailer of the flick, there are five
more reasons we’re totally digging the younger Fanning (not to be
confused with her equally-famous older sister Dakota) this second…

She’s
a family girl

“Christmas
is my favorite holiday [because] it’s when my whole family gets
together. We’re from Georgia, so my grandma always makes all of her
Southern dishes from her great-great-great grandma, like hash
browns.”

She’s
not afraid to be adventurous

Elle may
be too young to skydive, but she certainly has guts. “You know that
iFLY thing at Universal
Studios CityWalk? I’ve never
done it, and I really want to. My sister’s tried it, all my
friends have. I’ve been sort of afraid to [until now].”

She
has a unique style

“I’m
very much a ’60s to ’70s girl. I get a lot of inspiration from
little baby doll dresses and high waisted stuff.” So sophisticated
for a 13-year-old. We love it!

She’s
multi-talented

Not only
does Elle have time to go to school and star in major roles in
Hollywood, she loves to take ballet! “I’ve been dancing for about
four years. I go five days a week for about three hours. It’s
something that you’re either good or bad at it, there’s really no
in-between. I’m trying to get as good as I can.”

She
has great beauty advice

Elle’s
natural look is the way to go. “My
skin is very sensitive, so I always have to make sure, after ballet
or whenever, I have a very good skin regimen. I always really
moisturize and don’t wear too much makeup.”